Are your thoughts helping or hindering your public speaking success?
Our thoughts are powerful!
The great Stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, once said: The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
When things “go wrong” in life or situations arise that cause us to feel anxious and fearful, say when speaking in public, our thoughts can take on a life of their own.
Rather than let our thoughts run amok like a wild horse, we need to step in and take control by challenging our thoughts and steering them in a new direction.
We need to ask ourselves: Are our thoughts helping or hindering us?
Defeatist and hopeless thoughts can indeed paralyse us with inertia, causing us to give up in frustration and not take any further action. Conversely, positive and empowering thoughts uplift us and spur us on to persevere through adversity.
The power of reframing our thoughts
When Thomas Edison, encountered obstacle after obstacle in his quest to invent the electric light bulb, instead of quitting in disgust, he proclaimed:
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
Psychologists term this type of thinking: Reframing. Reframing is a technique used in therapy to help create a different way of looking at a situation, person, or relationship by changing its meaning.
Clinical psychologist Elaine N. Aron, author of “The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You” said: “Reframing is a term from cognitive psychotherapy which simply means seeing something in a new way, in a new context, with a new frame around it.”
Thomas Edison was ultimately triumphant in inventing the light bulb. I’m sure his empowering way of thinking and in particular, his reframing of the “problem”, was instrumental in his perseverance and successful achievement of his goal.
The fear of public Speaking (glossophobia) is considered to be one of our top fears. A 2014 survey by Chapman University found that the fear of public speaking was ranked in the top 5 phobias among respondents..
How you can use this strategy to increase your public speaking confidence
If you become consumed with self-doubt, anxiety and panic at the mere thought of public speaking, you should aim to reframe the situation.
Give yourself a reassuring pep talk and crowd out your nervous thoughts with empowering thoughts. Speak to yourself just like you would speak to a friend or like you would want a good friend to speak to you!
Tell yourself one or more of the following:
The Audience is on my side and wants me to succeed!
I am here to be of service and to pass on my knowledge, experience and wisdom to my audience
I know a lot! I have prepared a great speech and my audience is going to love what I have to say and will benefit from my perspective on the topic.
I am brave and proud of myself that I am even giving a talk. Public Speaking is considered to be the number one fear, and has been said to be feared more than death!
I’m not nervous - I’m EXCITED! The physical symptoms of nervousness are actually very similar to those of excitement. By telling yourself that you are excited, you are transforming your nervous energy to an excited and hopeful energy.
Every time you get up to speak or present in front of an audience, give yourself a pat on the back. Remind yourself that you are courageous and stretching yourself.
You are also learning and improving as a public speaker and are getting better and better with each and every presentation that you deliver!
© 2020 Susan Weser. All rights reserved.
